Hollywood Hypocrites Produce Extreme Income Inequality

Celebrity Leftists plugging Democrat slogans about income inequality are the worst offenders!

Ever wondered how much people in the lower echelons of the movie credits make? Well, here you go! From the belly of the beast—The Hollywood Reporter—you can see what a “Best Boy,” a “Gaffer,” and a stuntman take home.

“Hollywood Salaries Revealed, From Movie Stars to Agents (and Even Their Assitants)”

How bad is the decline in actor salaries over the past decade? Despite the huge sums still being raked in by such superstars as Robert Downey Jr. (his $75 million comes from his 7 percent, first-dollar slice of Iron Man 3, as well as his $12 million HTC endorsement deal) and Sandra Bullock (a 15 percent, first-dollar deal on Gravity and about $10 million more for her summer hit The Heat), most actors are feeling a definite squeeze, especially those in the middle.

“If you’re [a big star], you’re getting well paid,” says one top agent, “but the middle level has been cut out.” Sometimes with a hacksaw. Leonardo DiCaprio made $25 million (including bonuses) for The Wolf of Wall Street, while co-star Jonah Hill got paid $60,000. Granted, that’s an extreme example — Hill offered to do the part for scale (and got an Oscar nomination for his trouble).

But studio cost-cutting has meant that mid-level stars are being nickel-and-dimed in ways that would have been unheard of in the gilded ’90s (i.e., Marvel Studios’ reportedly offering Mickey Rourke a mere $250,000 to star opposite Downey in Iron Man 2). Before breaking out the violins, though, remember that even mid-level stars are far better off than most other actors. According to the most recent SAG statistics, the average member earns $52,000 a year, while the vast majority take home less than $1,000 a year from acting jobs.

From the looks of this, Gwyneth Paltrow’s recent support for “pay equality,” when Barack Obama visited her home for a fundraiser, is a desperately needed discussion in Hollywood. She needs to earn a ton less, and her fellow actors and actresses need to receive a lot more.